Gas prices hit cops' budgets

MONTICELLO — Police cruisers are often run close to 24 hours a day, and that can add up when gas is retailing for $4 gallon.

Heather Yakin

MONTICELLO — Police cruisers are often run close to 24 hours a day, and that can add up when gas is retailing for $4 gallon.

Municipalities aren't paying retail prices, but every gallon of gas that's burned is also burning tax money. Local police say you can't really cut back patrols — so they're trying other methods to conserve fuel.

"We've put a general order out not to idle cars, not to leave them running unnecessarily," said Eric Chaboty, Sullivan County's undersheriff. The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office plans more foot patrols in the hamlet areas — with deputies parking the cars and walking — where and when it's practical.

Other departments are taking similar measures, and everyone's keeping an eye on the bottom line.

"The way fuel's going up, we're wondering if we're going to go over budget," Chaboty said. The budget for fuel is $180,000.

When counties and cities were planning their 2008 budgets last summer, reformulated gas retailed a little above $3.25 per gallon on average in New York, and prices dipped below $3 in early fall, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This week, the average retail price was $4.01.

Ulster County Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum says they budgeted for a rise in gas prices for 2008.

"For sure, we didn't anticipate it going as high as it has," he said.

To cope, Ulster tries to keep deputies in their assigned patrol zones, working from the nearest substation. But patrols and inmate transports to courts, jails, prisons or hospitals can't really be cut back.

So far, there's no move among most departments to stop detectives or brass from taking their cars home. Van Blarcum says it's more efficient when those officers answer middle-of-the-night calls.

In the City of Middletown, Lt. Paul Rickard said, some officers will double up in cars, and there's an order to avoid idling cars unless there's a person in custody or a police dog inside.

The city spent $74,000 on fuel last year, and had budgeted $113,000 for 2008. But four months into the year, they had already used up $45,000.

"We're not going to let it affect our patrol coverage," said Rickard. "We're not going to reduce services."